Exiting the mangrove swamp

Yesterday, we were treated to a true adventure — spearfishing for crab and fish, and the gathering of mussels and periwinkle (sea snails), led by the Walker brothers. Brandon Walker picked native plants and fruits for us to try, including the Beach Almond, the Passionfruit, and another small but tasty orange fruit that I’ve forgotten the name of. We learned that this land that looks like a coastal playground abounds with enough food to feed many people, if only you know where to look.  We had great success in spearing the crabs (otherwise known as “crab stabbing”"), and then Brandon Walker took us through the mangroves (think bare feet in deep mud and climbing over mangrove roots) — a MOST unusual experience. I won’t try to depict it here; ask your son/daughter/friend for a description. 

Then we went to the Walker household, where the brothers live with their families — a total of 12 children and several elders. We sat on their veranda and ate the seafood we had gathered, plus some delicious damper and muffins. 

Enjoying the water

Then it was on to the Daintree River to look for crocodiles (we saw a huge one!) and then a swim in the private waterfall and swimming hole. Along the way, our bus driver Roger filled us in on local history and culture.

Swimming at a private waterfall

It was a perfect ending to a truly great trip. All you parents out there…your children have been delightful travelers. They are well-mannered (always saying thank you to our guides and bus drivers), courageous (even tasting the beach periwinkle and the crab eggs), and eager to experience new things.  Every one of them is a nice person; you’ve raised them right. Thanks for lending them to us for this 2 and a half weeks of travel Down Under.

Matt playing a digeridoo

This video is from our visit on Thursday, May 21 (that’s Aussie time!) at the Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas.  Sometimes kangaroos come 2 for 1!

See Dr. Morton’s post below for more on the Wildlife Habitat.

– Norris Frederick

Tomorrow, we head back out to the rain forest. It’s hard to believe our trip is almost over.  But we’re happy to have a few more days here in tropical paradise.

Dr. Lynn Morton

Here we are in Port Douglas, northern Queensland. It is, well, a tropical paradise.  Colorful exotic birds flit from tree to tree, and the beach is just a few blocks away. The temperature is in the mid-80s, sunny.

Lest you think that we are merely on vacation…we’ve only been here for less than 24 hours, and already we have toured the rainforest with an Aboriginal guide, driven through parts of the Daintree Preserve, eaten a delicious lunch featuring strange fruits (well, strange to us, anyway) such as the Dragon Fruit and the Custard Apple, fed kangaroos and wallabees in the Port Douglas habitat, and had a few pictures taken with a koala and a python (some of the more adventurous students, that is).     

It is quite an experience to get on an airplane in the middle of the dry desert of Alice Springs and arrive several hours later in a lush environment with high humidity! The Parrotfish hostel where we are staying is basic but very comfortable. Upon our arrival, we were treated to a hearty lasagna dinner (thanks, John Belk study tour office!) and then walked down to the beach as a group. The stars out there were brighter than most of us had ever seen!

It was an early rising this morning to tour the rainforest and learn about the ways in which the Aboriginals learned over centuries to treat every illness and injury using native rainforest plants.  They have cures for deadly snakebites, poisonous plant contact, and venomous jellyfish stings. That could really come in handy.

After learning about a tree that oozes a highly toxic black tar, even our most rambunctious tour members remained on the path and did not venture far!

We followed all of this education with a swim in beautiful Mossman Gorge.

Now, at the end of a long and beautiful day, your sons/daughters/friends are playing on the beach or strolling the streets of Port Douglas. They seem very happy. Tomorrow, we go snorkling on the Great Barrier Reef. No worries, we’ve done this many times before, and the Aristocat staff is thorough and professional. Gorgeous weather has been forecast for our trip.  Everyone is very excited about seeing the tropical fish and other creatures we studied in class last semester.

Dr. Lynn Morton

Our wildlife adventures started as soon as we left our hotel in Sydney.  In Hyde Park we saw our first fig tree, with buttress roots taller than a person.  As we walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens we saw giant white cockatoos, which are as common as crows, and rainbow-colored lorikeets.  Everyone really got excited when we encountered a roosting colony of flying foxes, who squealed their discontent and fluttered around at being disturbed.

At the Sydney Wildlife Adventure some of the students had the opportunity to pet a koala, a bearded dragon, and a python.  Luckily, the students who tried surfing at Bondi Beach did not encounter any of Australia’s more dangerous creatures, box jellies and irukandji jelly fish.

Hiking at Kata Tjuta

We have had quite a few animal sightings in the Outback, which is especially green due to heavy rains in November.  As our tour bus rounded Uluru we saw a pack of dingoes, and on our way to Kata Tjuta we saw a few feral camels.  The camels were used as work animals when the Outback was settled by Europeans and, since being released, have established feral populations.  They are considered pests here, but we were excited nonetheless.

Our most exciting “find” so far has been a single rock wallaby that was having a breakfast of leaves on the rocky slopes of Simpson’s Gap.  She patiently munched on a bush as we snapped dozens of photographs.

Despite being mostly desert, Australia has no plants in the cactus family.  Instead, we’ve seen dozens of species of Eucalypts, desert oaks,  and grevilleas.  We’ve even spotted the witchetty bush with roots that house 3-inch long grubs that are eaten by the Aboriginal people.  We’ve also encountered a number of prickly, thorny, and spiky plants that are extremely skilled at protecting themselves from curious herbivores as well as the occasional careless traveller.

We hope to encounter many more of Australia’s biological wonders as our travels continue.  We’re still on the lookout for kangaroos!

Dr. Jessica Braswell

There is always a sense of the unexpected waiting just around the corner in Alice. The town is small and life moves at a fairly leisurely pace, but now we know we are really in Australia, as opposed to the way we sometimes felt in Sydney, which is too much like an American big city to be distinctively Australian. Out here, with few streetlights, dogs wandering the streets, Vegenmite served at breakfast, and the occasional python draped around someone’s neck,  there is no doubt that we’ve landed in the Northern Territory.

We hiked in the McDonnell ranges today and set a Queens University record — all 19 students climbed straight up over huge boulders to reach the top of Stanley Chasm. What a wonderful view! We hope to post a picture of the intrepid students standing at the top of the world — well, the top of this world, anyway.  

The air is warmer than it was in Uluru or Sydney, although it is still partially overcast. We have some time this afternoon to do laundry, check email, and wander the streets of Alice Springs. We’ll be here for three glorious days, laid back in the outback.

As they say in Australia, “Beauty.” That means “really cool.” But for us, it means that plus the incredible beauty of the desert.

Dr. Lynn Morton

Celebrating sunset at Uluru

On Sunday, May 17, the JBIP Australia group had the remarkable experience of being guided around Uluru by an Aboriginal guide, Valerie Brumby.

Ms. Brumby is a member of the Anangu people who share the responsibility for preserving Uluru as a sacred site for the Aboriginal people.  Uluru is a massive sandstone rock — which the British named Ayers Rock — right in the red center of the outback in Australia.  Over 5 miles miles around at its base,  Uluru has caves and fissures which form the basis for many stories central to the Aboriginal religion.

Miss Brumby spoke to us in her native language, which was interpreted by another guide.  She pointed out to us places on the rock where one of the ancestors fought off a dangerous adversary in the time known as the Dreamtime.

The event was a highlight for students and faculty, who studied Aboriginal culture during the prep class for the tour.

The view of the sun setting at Uluru is also a spectacle to behold–an activity enjoyed by all!

Dr.  Norris Frederick

Yesterday, we hiked in the Grand Canyon of the Blue Mountains about two hours from Sydney. This is one hardy crowd of students! It was cold and brutally windy at times but as we descended into the canyon,the high winds subsided, although we could hear the wind whistling above us in the higher altitudes of the rocks. Scrubby eucalyptus trees gave way to a rain forest environment, and we walked through several streams as we continued our descent. More singing and laughing ensued! 

Our two guides pointed out botanical points of interest and gave us ecological lessons, as did Dr. Jessica Braswell, our own faculty Biologist.   Dr. Frederick somehow managed to connect the material to Plato.

HIking in the Blue Mountains

What goes down must go up, when you are hiking, and all of that descent turned into a challenging ascent to climb out of the canyon. So much for being cold! We all made it to the top and piled back into the bus for the trip back to Sydney, arriving in the city just in time for dinner.

Today, we head to the Sydney Aquarium, known to be one of the finest aquariums in the world. Then, we’ll have the afternoon to explore the city as we wish. Tomorrow, we head to Uluru. There is no internet access there, so it will be another couple of days before we can post from Alice Springs, in the middle of the Australian outback. Stay tuned….

Dr. Lynn Morton

The Australia group visiting the Sydney Opera House

For those of you who have been watching this space for news….so sorry it has taken us so long to post! But we hit the ground running like a mob of kangaroos and have been hopping from place to place at great speed!

After the usual grueling flight, we arrived in Sydney and immediately set off to explore the city, walking through the botanical gardens and managing to disrupt the sleep of a huge group of flying foxes — or extremely large bats, for those of you not familiar with the species. Lots of excited screaming ensued — from us, not from the bats. We walked past the opera house to the Circular Quay, taking great pictures along the way. Then we boarded a ferry for a trip through the harbor to Manly, and amazingly, none of us nodded off on the way! We were all so excited that our sleep-deprived state was forgotten.

The following day was spent touring Sydney, on foot of course, seeing the sites and hearing reports from our fabulous students. This is one happy group! They burst into spontaneous song from time to time, and they are always laughing.

We are having a wonderful time, and we all have so much energy for taking in all of the sights and sounds of Sydney. It’s a beautiful city, and we’ve been treated to gorgeous Fall weather, a bit crisp in the morning, giving way to sunshine and warmth in the afternoon.

Parents and friends, everyone is healthy, happy, and looking forward to the next adventure.

Dr. Lynn Morton